Swiss Alps

The Swiss Alps (German: Schweizer Alpen, French: Alpes suisses, Italian: Alpi svizzere, Romansh: Alps svizras) are the central portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position they are also known as the Central Alps.

The highest summit in the Swiss Alps is the Dufourspitze, at 4,634 metres (15,202 ft) near the Swiss-Italian border. The highest mountain which lies entirely on Swiss territory is the Dom, at 4,545 metres (14,911 ft). Other main summits can be found in the list of mountains of Switzerland.

Mont Dolent, Mont Blanc

Introduction

The Alps cover 61% of Switzerland's surface area (41,285 km²) thus making her the second most alpine country after Austria. Despite the fact that Switzerland covers only 13.2% of the Alps total area (190,600 km²), many alpine four-thousanders (48 of 82) are located in the Swiss Alps and almost the totality of the other are within 20 km of the country's border. The glaciers in the Swiss Alps cover an area of 1230 km² (3% of the Swiss territory), this represent 44% of the total glaciated area in the Alps (2800 km²).

Geography

The Swiss Alps are situated south of the Swiss plateau and north of the national border. The countries with which Switzerland shares mountain ranges of the Alps are (from west to east): France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein.

Subdivision

Like the Alps the Swiss Alps can be divided into two main parts, the Western Alps and Eastern Alps, whose division is along the Rhine from the lake Bodensee to the Splügen Pass (in Graubünden).

Western Alps

Map of the western Swiss Alps

From west to east, south of Rhône and Rhine:

Chablais Alps*: Canton of Valais, separated from the Mont Blanc Massif by the Arve, the Dents du Midi are the highest summits.
Graian Alps (Mont Blanc Massif): Canton of Valais, separated from the Pennine Alps by the Col Ferret. The Aiguille d'Argentière is the highest summit on the Swiss side.
Pennine Alps (Valais Alps): Canton of Valais, separated from the Lepontine Alps by the Simplon Pass, contains the highest Swiss mountains, the Dufourspitze in the Monte Rosa group, the Dom, the Weisshorn and the famous Matterhorn (38 summits over 4000 m).
Lepontine Alps: Cantons of Valais, Ticino, Graubünden, separated from the Oberhalbstein Range by the Splügen Pass, contains the St. Gotthard Pass.

From west to east, north of Rhône and Rhine:

Bernese Alps*: Cantons of Bern,Valais, Vaud, Fribourg, separated from the Urner Alps by the Grimsel Pass, contains the Jungfrau and the north face of Eiger (9 summits over 4000 m).
Urner Alps*: Cantons of Uri, Bern, Valais, Lucerne, Obwalden, Nidwalden, separated from the Glarus Alps by the Reuss River.
Glarus Alps*: Cantons of Uri, Glarus, Graubünden, separated from the Appenzell Alps by the Seeztal.
Appenzell Alps*: Cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, St. Gallen.

Eastern Alps

Map of the eastern Swiss Alps

All following mountain ranges are situated in Graubünden, they are part of the Central Eastern Alps except the Ortler Alps which belong to the Southern Limestone Alps.

From west to east, north of Mera and Inn river:

From west to east, south of Mera and Inn river:

Bregaglia Range
Bernina Range (contains the easternmost summit over 4000 m: the Piz Bernina)
Livigno Range
Ortler Alps*
Sesvenna Range

Travel and tourism

Despite the tourism industry, Zermatt has retained much of its traditional character

In some large resorts, like Cran-Montana, the tourism industry deeply affected the landscape

Tourism in the Swiss Alps began with the first ascents of the main peaks of the Alps (Jungfrau in 1811, Piz Bernina in 1850, Dufourspitze in 1855, Matterhorn in 1856, Dom in 1858, Weisshorn in 1861) mostly by British mountain climbers accompanied by the local guides. The construction of facilities for tourists started in the mid nineteenth century with the building of hotels and mountain huts (creation of the Swiss Alpine Club in 1863) and the opening of mountain train lines (Mount Rigi in 1873, Gornergrat in 1898). 1912 was the year of inauguration of the Jungfraubahn which leads to the highest train station in Europe, the Jungfraujoch.

Summer tourism

Switzerland enjoys a network of 62,000 km well-maintained trails among which 23,000 are located in mountainous areas. Many mountains attract a large number of alpinists from around the world, especially the 4000 metres summits and the great north faces. Many tourists also love to take nature hike and photographers love the look of the Swiss Alps. The large winter resorts are also the most appreciated destinations in summer.

Winter tourism

The major destinations for skiing and other winter sports are located in Valais, Bernese Oberland and Graubünden. The most visited places are:

Davos
Grindelwald
St. Moritz
Zermatt (all year round ski resort)

Other large winter resorts are:

Transportation

The Glacier Express on the Landwasser Viaduct, Albula Range

The Swiss Alps and Switzerland enjoy an extensive transportation network. Every mountain village can be reached by public transport, the main companies are:

Most of mountain regions are within 3 hours of travel from Switzerland’s main cities and their respective airport. The Engadin Valley in Graubünden is usually 4 to 6 hours away from the large cities but the train travel itself with the famed Glacier Express or Bernina Express is considered as an attraction. The Samedan Airport near St. Moritz at an altitude of 1,707 metres (5,600 ft) is the highest in Europe.

The crossing of the Alps is a key issue at national and international levels, as the European continent is sharply divided by them. Since the beginnings of industrialization, Switzerland constantly had to improve its transalpine network. It began in 1882, by the Gotthard Rail Tunnel and was followed in 1906 by the Simplon Tunnel and more recently, in 2007, by the Lötschberg Base Tunnel. The 57 km long Gotthard Base Tunnel is slated to be open in 2016, it will finally provide a direct flat rail link through the Alps.